A Boy and His Tree男孩和樹

　　A long time ago, there was a huge apple tree. A little boy loved to come and play around it every day. He climbed to the tree top, ate the apples, took a nap under the shadow… He loved the tree and the tree loved to play with him.

　　很久以前有一棵蘋果樹。一個小男孩每天都喜歡來到樹旁玩耍。他爬到樹頂，吃蘋果，在樹蔭里打盹……他愛這棵樹，樹也愛和他一起玩。

　　Time went by…The little boy had grown up and he no longer played around the tree.

　　隨著時間的流逝，小男孩長大了。他不再到樹旁玩耍了。

　　One day, the boy came back to the tree and looked sad. “Come and play with me,” the tree asked the boy.

　　一天，男孩回到樹旁，看起來很悲傷。“來和我玩吧！”樹說。

　　“I am no longer a kid, I don’t  play around trees anymore.” The boy replied, “I want toys. I need money to buy them.”

　　“我不再是小孩了，我不會再到樹下玩耍了。”男孩答到，“我想要玩具，我需要錢來買。”

　　“Sorry, but I don’t have money…but you can pick all my apples and sell them. So, you will have money.” The boy was so excited. He picked all the apples on the tree and left happily. The boy didn’t come back after he picked the apples. The tree was sad.

　　“很遺憾，我沒有錢……但是你可以采摘我的所有蘋果拿去賣。這樣你就有錢了。”男孩很興奮。他摘掉樹上所有的蘋果，然后高興地離開了。自從那以后男孩沒有回來。樹很傷心。

　　One day, the boy returned and the tree was so excited.

　　一天，男孩回來了，樹非常興奮。

　　“Come and play with me.” The tree said.

　　“來和我玩吧。”樹說。

　　“I don’t have time to play. I have to work for my family. We need a house for shelter. Can you help me?” “Sorry, but I don’t have a house. But you can cut off my branches to build your house.” So the boy cut all the branches of the tree and left happily.

　　“我沒有時間玩。我得為我的家庭工作。我們需要一個房子來遮風擋雨，你能幫我嗎？”很遺憾，我沒有房子。但是，你可以砍下我的樹枝來建房。“因此，男孩砍下所有的樹枝，高高興興地離開了。

　　The tree was glad to see him happy but the boy didn’t appear since then. The tree was again lonely and sad.

　　看到他高興，樹也很高興。但是，自從那時起男孩沒再出現，樹有孤獨，傷心起來。

　　One hot summer day, the boy returned and the tree was delighted. “Come and play with me!” the tree said.

　　突然，在一個夏日，男孩回到樹旁，樹很高興。“來和我玩吧！”樹說。

　　“I am sad and getting old. I want to go sailing to relax myself. Can you give me a boat?” “Use my trunk to build the boat. You can sail and be happy.” So the boy cut the tree trunk to make a boat. He went sailing and did not show up for a long time.

　　“我很傷心，我開始老了。我想去航海放松自己。你能不能給我一條船？” “用我的樹干去造一條船，你就能航海了，你會高興的。”于是，男孩砍倒樹干去造船。他航海去了，很長一段時間未露面。

　　Finally, the boy returned after he left for so many years. “Sorry, my boy. But I don’t have anything for you anymore. No more apples for you.” the tree said. “ I don’t have teeth to bite.” The boy replied. “ No more trunk for you to climb on.” “I am too old for that now.” the boy said. “I really want to give you something…the only thing left is my dying roots.” The tree said with tears. “I don’t need much now, just a place to rest. I am tired after all these years.” The boy replied. “Good! Old tree roots are the best place to lean on and rest. Come here, please sit down with me and have a rest.” The boy sat down and the tree was glad and smiled with tears…

　　許多年后男孩終于回來了。“很遺憾，我的孩子，我再也沒有任何東西可以給你了。沒有蘋果給你……”樹說。“我沒有牙齒啃。” 男孩答到。“沒有樹干供你爬。”“現在我老了，爬不上去了。” 男孩說。“我真的想把一切都給你……我唯一剩下的東西是快要死去的樹墩。” 樹含著眼淚說。“現在，我不需要什么東西，只需要一個地方來休息。經過了這些年我太累了。”男孩答到。 “太好了！老樹墩就是倚著休息的最好地方。過來，和我一起坐下休息吧。” 男孩坐下了，樹很高興，含淚而笑……

　　This is a story of everyone. The tree is our parents. When we were young, we loved to play with Mom and Dad… When we grow up, we leave them, and only come to them when we need something or when we are in trouble. No matter what, parents will always be there and give everything they could to make you happy. You may think that the boy is cruel to the tree but that's how all of us are treating our parents.

　　這是一個發生在每一個人身上的故事。那棵樹就像我們的父母。我們小的時候，喜歡和爸爸媽媽玩……長大后，便離開他們，只有在我們需要父母親，或是遇到了困難的時候，才會回去找他們。盡管如此，父母卻總是有求必應，為了我們的幸福，無私地奉獻自己的一切。你也許覺得那個男孩很殘忍，但我們何嘗不是這樣呢？